Cable support systems

ABSTRACT

Cable Support Systems for supporting an object at a desired distance below an overhead beam or other overhead structure are provided. Novel clamps for clamping to the overhead structure are fitted to support cables that encircle objects to be supported by the cable support systems. The novel clamps have internal methods to support the cables. The cables are then encircled around the objects and fixed relative to the clamp. The distances between the object and the clamps may be precisely controlled.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to cable support systems for suspendingan object from an overhead structure by means of cables. The cablesupport systems include novel clamps that clamp to the overheadstructure and support the cable that suspends from them to secure theobject to be suspended.

2. Prior Art

Various cable support systems have been described and utilized in theprior art to suspend objects from overhead beams. The purposed of suchsystems is to suspend items such as conduit, heating and airconditioning ducts, piping, and other objects from overhead structuressuch as beams or roofs. The earlier cable suspension systems did notprovide adequate methods of adjusting the height of the objectssuspended precisely so as to equalize the weight on several cables thatmight be suspending the same object. Further, the earlier systems didnot provide a simple and easy way of connecting the cables that suspendan object to the overhead structures. The present invention provides acable system that may precisely control the height of an objectsuspended from an overhead structure and also form a ready and easyconnection to the overhead structure by novel clamps.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A clamp for a cable support system is provided that includes a generally“C” shaped clamp body with a threaded fastener threadingly receivedwithin one leg of the “C” shaped body to clamp the “C” shaped body ontoan overhead beam. A vertical bore through the clamp body receives acable to be suspended from the overhead beam and there are variousdevices within the clamp body to restrict the downward vertical movementof the cable relative to the clamp body. One of the arrangements forrestricting the downward movement of the cable within the clamp body isto provide a annular shoulder within the bore that cooperates with anoversized end portion on the cable and thereby restricts downwardmovement of the cable.

Another arrangement for restraining the cable within the “C” shaped bodyof the clamp includes providing a conical end portion at the lower partof the vertical bore through the body. A wedge retainer is movablevertically within the bore. Wedges retained by the wedge retainercontact the cable within the bore and force the wedges against the cableby contact with the conical end portion of the bore when the retainer isat the lower part of the bore. A spring urges the wedge retainerdownwardly relative to the bore so that when the cable is forcedupwardly through the wedges, the cable is restricted from downwardmovement.

Still another arrangement for restraining the cable within the “C”shaped body of the clamp includes providing a passage extendingdownwardly at an acute angle to the vertical bore with a wedge withinthe passage that is urged into the bore by a spring. The wedge preventsthe cable from moving downwardly unless it is released by release leversthat extend out from the wedge through slots in the “C” shaped body.

Cable support systems are also provided which utilize the novel clampsand suspend an object from the cable with the use of cable clamps or byproviding fixed loops at the end of the cable to secure an object to thecable.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novelclamp for securing a cable to an overhead beam.

Another object of the present invention is to provide systems forsecuring objects to overhead beams which permit the height to beprecisely regulated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system forsecuring an object to an overhead beam by means of suspension cablesthat is readily installable by workmen.

These and other objects of the present invention all become readilyapparent as this description proceeds in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the clamp of thepresent invention clamped to a section of “I” beam.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the clamp of FIG. 1 clamped to the “I”beam.

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation of the clamp of FIGS. 1 and 2 showingthe internal arrangement of the clamp.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a clamp similar to that of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation of the clamp of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevation of another form of clamp.

FIG. 7 is an end elevation of the clamp of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a system for suspending an object from an overhead beam shownschematically.

FIG. 9 is a system similar to that of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is another system similar to those of FIGS. 6 and 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a clamp generally indicated at 10clamped to an overhead beam 12. The overhead beam 12 is depicted as an“I” beam but it could be a beam or support of any shape that wouldaccept the clamp 10. The clamp 10 has a generally “C” shaped body 14with a threaded fastener 16 threaded through one leg of the “C” shapedbody 14. A lock nut 18 is included on the threaded fastener 16 to lockthe fastener in place after the clamp 10 is secured to beam 12. Avertical bore 20 (FIG. 3) is provided through the body 14 of clamp 10.The vertical bore 20 has a conical end 22 at the lower end of the clamp10. Within the vertical bore 20 is positioned a wedge retainer 24 whichis generally conical in shape with an extended cylindrical end portion24 a and which has a bore extending through the length of the wedgeretainer 24 to accept a cable. The wedge retainer 24 retains wedges 26about its periphery. The wedges 26 are depicted as balls but they couldalso be wedges of other shapes without departing from the spirit of thisinvention. The wedge retainer 24 is urged downwardly relative to theclamp body 14 by a spiral spring 28 that is secured at the upper end ofthe body 14 by a spring cap 30 fixed to the body 14.

A retainer lock nut 32 is threaded onto the outer extension of the wedgeretainer 24 for a purpose to be described. A cable 34 is positionedwithin the body 14 of clamp 10. The cable 34 may be moved upwardly inthe direction shown by the arrow A in FIG. 3. If cable 34 is attemptedto be moved downwardly against the direction of arrow A, the wedges 26within the wedge retainer 24 are wedged against the cable as the wedgeretainer 24 moves downwardly and the wedges 26 enter the lower conicalportion 22 of vertical bore 20. It will be seen that the position of thecable 34 relative to the clamp body 14 may be adjusted by moving thecable 34 upwardly in the direction of arrow A. Once the cable 34 ispositioned in the desired location, the retainer lock nut 32 is threadedupwardly against the body 14 of clamp 10 to prevent movement of thewedge retainer 24 relative to the body 14 and thereby lock the cable 34in place.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown a second embodiment of aclamp adapted to fix a cable to an overhead beam. The clamp showngenerally at 40 has a generally “C” shaped body 44 with a threadedfastener 46 threaded through one leg of the body 44. A lock nut 48 ispositioned on the threaded fastener 46 to lock it in place once thethreaded fastener 46 clamps the body 44 of clamp 10 onto an overheadbeam (not shown). Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a vertical bore 50that has an oversized portion 52 at the top of the body of clamp 10. Theoversized portion 52 forms an annular shoulder 54 around the top of thesmaller vertical bore 50. A cable 56 is shown within the vertical bore50 and cable 56 has an oversized end 58 which prevents the cable 56 frommoving downwardly relative to the clamp body 44 when the oversized end58 contacts the annular shoulder 54 within the clamp body 44.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown a third embodiment of a clampadapted to fix a cable to an overhead beam. The clamp shown generally at80 has a generally “C” shaped body 84 with a threaded fastener 86through one leg of the body 84. A lock nut 88 is positioned on thethreaded fastener 86 to lock it in place once the threaded fastener 86clamps the body 84 of clamp 10 onto an overhead beam (not shown). Avertical bore 90 is provided through the body 84 of clamp 80.

The vertical bore 90 has a passage 92 communicating with it. Passage 92extends downwardly at an acute angle to bore 90 and contains a wedge 94that slides within passage 92. The wedge 94 is urged toward bore 90 by aspring 96 that is retained by a spring cap 98 fixed to the upper end ofpassage 92. The wedge 94 has release levers 100 fixed to it that extendoutwardly from wedge 94 through slots 102 formed into each side of “C”shaped body 84. The slots 102 extend generally parallel to passage 92and permit the wedge 94 to be moved against the urging of spring 96.

It will be seen that cable 104 can be inserted upwardly into bore 90 andthat the wedge 94 will move against the urging of spring 96 to permitpassage of cable 104. If there is an attempt to move cable 104downwardly, it will be wedged against bore 90 by wedge 94. If it isdesired to move cable 104 downwardly, release levers 100 are movedagainst the urging of spring 96 to move wedge 94 away from cable 104.

FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 show systems for supporting objects below overheadbeams by means of cable supported from the novel clamps shown in FIGS.1-7. FIG. 8 shows a clamp 40 having the “C” shaped body 44 with thethreaded fastener 46 and lock nut 48 clamped to an overhead beam (notshown). The cable 56 that suspends from clamp 40 is utilized to supportan object 60 at a desired distance below the clamp 40. The object 60 asshown in FIG. 6 has an eye through which cable 56 passes. It should beunderstood that the shape and size of object 60 form no part of thepresent invention and the object 16 may be a pipe, a heating or airconditioning vent, or any other object which is encircled by cable 56.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cable 56 passes through a cable grip 64 and thenencircles the object 60 and is returned back through cable grip 64 wherethe free end 66 of cable 56 protrudes above the cable grip 64.

The cable grip 64 is a device shown and described in my copending patentapplication Ser. No. 10/029,087 entitled “Releasable Cable Grip” andfiled in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Dec. 20, 2001.The cable grip 64 consists generally of a housing that has twin boresthrough the housing. One bore permits the cable to pass freely throughthe housing without being restricted. The other bore contains wedges andretainer elements that permit the cable to pass in only one directionthrough the housing and restrict the cable from being removed from thehousing in the opposite direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the cable 56suspends from the clamp 40 and passes through the passage within cablegrip 64 which does not restrict it. The cable 56 is passed around object60 and is then passed upwardly through cable grip 64 until the endportion 66 of the cable 56 protrudes above the cable grip 64. Theprecise height of object 60 relative to clamp 40 will depend upon theamount of the free end 66 of cable 56 that extends above the cable grip64.

Referring to FIG. 9, the clamp 10 of the type shown in FIGS. 1-3 isattached to an overhead beam (not shown) when the threaded fastener 16in the clamp body 14 is threaded against the beam and the lock nut 18 issecured. In clamp 10, the retainer lock nut 32 will hold the cable 34 ain place. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the cable 34 a has a permanentloop 68 formed on the end of cable 34 a by means of a crimped retainer70 that secures the end of cable 34 a and forms the loop 68. In FIG. 9,the object 72 is encircled by cable 34 a and then cable 34 a passes backthrough its own loop 68 to secure the object. The cable 34 a is thenpassed upwardly into clamp 10 with the retainer lock nut 32 loosened topermit free movement of cable 34 a through the clamp body 14. The heightof object 72 relative to clamp 10 is adjusted by adjusting the amount ofcable 34 a that protrudes above the body 14 of the clamp 10. It will beappreciated that the system of FIG. 9 may also be practiced with theclamp 80 of FIGS. 6 and 7 since the amount of cable protruding aboveclamp 80 is adjustable.

FIG. 10 also shows a system which utilizes the clamp 10 of FIGS. 1-3.Here again, a cable 34 is secured by clamp 14 as described inconjunction with the description of clamp 10. The cable 34 passesthrough a cable grip 64 as described in conjunction with theconfiguration of FIG. 8 herein. The cable 34 passes through the freepassage of cable grip 64, encircles the object to be retained, and thenpasses back up through the restrained passage of cable grip 64 so thatthe free end 74 of cable 34 extends above the cable grip 64. In theconfiguration of FIG. 10, the height of object 72 relative to clamp 10may be adjusted by the amount of cable that is moved above clamp 10 byloosening retainer lock nut 32 and thereafter tightening it. The heightof object 72 relative to clamp 10 may also be adjusted by the amount ofthe free end 74 of cable 34 that is permitted to protrude above thecable grip 64. Thus FIG. 8 has two separate and distinct adjustmentmeans for adjusting the height of the object 72 relative to the clamp10. Again, it will be appreciated that the clamp 80 of FIGS. 6 and 7 maybe substituted in this system of FIG. 10 since it operates in a mannersimilar to the clamp 10 of FIGS. 1-3.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I havedescribed the principle, mode of operation and the preferred embodimentsof my invention. It should be understood that the invention may bepracticed otherwise than as specifically illustrated and describedherein in accordance with the claims affixed hereto.

1. A clamp for a cable support system to suspend an object from anoverhead beam comprising: a generally “C” shaped clamp body; a threadedfastener threadingly received within one leg of said “C” shaped body toclamp said “C” shaped body onto said overhead beam; a vertical borethrough the vertical portion of the “C” of said clamp body for thepurpose of receiving a cable to be suspended from said overhead beam; aconical end portion at the lower part of said bore; a wedge retainervertically movable within said bore; wedges retained by said wedgeretainer for the purpose of contacting a cable within said bore and toforced against said cable by said conical end portion of said bore whensaid retainer is at the lower part of said bore; and a spring urge saidwedge retainer downwardly relative to said bore.
 2. The clamp of claim 1wherein the wedges release to permit upward movement of a cable relativeto said clamp when a cable is inserted into the clamp and forcedupwardly.
 3. The clamp of claim 2 wherein said wedge retainer has athreaded portion protruding below said bore with a lock nut threadedonto said wedge retainer lower portion so that after a cable ispositioned within said clamp “C” shaped body at the desired height, saidlock nut is tightened against said clamp “C” shaped body to lock saidwedge retainer and prevent movement of said wedge retainer relative tosaid bore.
 4. A cable support system for hanging an object at a desireddistance below an overhead beam comprising: a cable; a clamp having agenerally “C” shaped clamp body with a threaded fastener threadinglyreceived within one leg of said “C” shaped body to clamp said “C” shapedbody onto said overhead beam and a vertical bore through said clamp bodyto receive the cable to be suspended from said overhead beam, saidvertical bore having a conical lower end portion with a wedge retainerand wedges vertically movable within said bore whereby said wedgescontact said lower conical end portion and said cable to wedge saidcable into position within said bore, the vertical position of saidcable relative to said bore being vertically adjustable by forcing saidcable upwardly to release said wedges; an object to be suspended by saidcable at a predetermined height below said beam; and means forconnecting said cable to said object.
 5. The cable support system ofclaim 4 wherein said means for connecting said cable to said objectincludes: a permanent loop formed on the end of said cable; and passingsaid cable around said object and thereafter threading said cablethrough said permanent loop formed on the end of said cable andthereafter threading said cable into said vertical bore in said clamp.6. The cable support system of claim 5 wherein the height of said objectbelow said beam is controlled by the amount of said cable threadedupwardly through said vertical bore in said clamp.
 7. The cable supportsystem of claim 6 wherein said clamp wedge retainer has a threadedportion protruding below said bore with a lock nut threaded onto saidwedge retainer lower portion so that after said cable is positionedwithin said clamp “C” shaped body at the desired height, said lock nutis tightened against said clamp “C” shaped body to lock said wedgeretainer and prevent movement of said wedge retainer relative to saidbore.
 8. The cable support system of claim 4 wherein said clamp verticalbore includes a spring that urges said wedge retainer downwardlyrelative to said bore.
 9. The cable support system of claim 4 whereinsaid clamp wedge retainer has a threaded portion protruding below saidbore with a lock nut threaded onto said wedge retainer lower portion.